Combined cabinet and examining or operating table.



No. 724,125, PATENTEE MAE. 31,A 190s.. G. E. PEINDLE. 4

COMBINED CABINET AND EXAMINING 0E OPERATING TABLE.

APPLIOATION FILED AUG. 5, 1902. I

` No MODEL. 'y I 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

' .VI I in!) l No. 724,125. i PATENTEB MAE. 31, 1903.`

` G. E. BBINDLE. COMBINED CABINET AND EXAMINING C1B-OPERATING TABLE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG- 5. 1902.

-H0 MODEL.

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*N @Ho/(May UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GILBERT H. PRINDLE, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

COMBINED CABINET AND EXAMINING 0R OPERATING TABLE.

SPECIFICATION forming' part of Letters Patent No. 724,125, dated March 31, 1,903.

Application filed August 5, 1902.

To @ZZ whom it' may concern.-

Beit known that I, GILBERT H. PRINDLE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Washington, in the District of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Combined Cabinet and Examining or Operating Table; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specilication, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

The present invention has relation to certain Vnew and useful improvements in combined medicine-cabinet and physicians or surgeons examining and operating table; and the object thereof is to provide such a device as will be especially adapted to army and iield use and dispensing with the many complicated attachments that would tend to become injured or out of order by'reason of the necessity of transportation in army-wagons or other conveyances from place to place. The simplicity of construction especially recommends it for army use, as when folded and not required for use by the physician or surgeon it will form a compact piece of furniture that may be utilized as such in a tent or other inclosure to serve as an ordinary table for writing and for other purposes, and when required for use in case of emergency calling forimmediate action the device can be set up ready for the physician or surgeon, the height and length of the examining or operating table when set up being such as to adapt itself to the requirements of the physician or surgeon. l

The invention consists in a combined cabinet and physicians and surgeons operatingtable constructed substantially as shown in the drawings, and hereinafter described and claimed.

Figure l of the drawings is a perspective View of the device when it is to be used as an examining and operating table; Fig. 2, a similar view showing the device in a compact form ready for transportation; Fig. 3, a detail view in perspective of the wedge-shape support for the hinged extension-leaf. g

In the accompanying drawings, A represents a suitable cabinet provided with draw- Serial No. 118 ,542. (No muriel..`

ers B or otherwise constructed and adapted to carry medicines, surgical instruments, towels, lint, bandages, or other appliances or devices which would be required bythe army physician or surgeon in the field.

The cabinet A, which may be of any desirable form and construction, has a fiat tabletop C, said cabinet having a hinged door D, and when closed, as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, retains the drawers in their place and forms -a compact piece of furniture without any projecting iixtures thereto, thereby enabling it to be readily handled in transporting the same from place to place without danger of injury to the cabinet.

The table-top Cis perfectly flat, and hinged thereto'is an extension-leaf E, and when said' leaf is folded down upon the table-top, as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, both the leaf and the door are suitably'locked in position by means of the hasps a b, engaging the staples c d, respectively, and secured by a suitable padlock. Any suitable and wellknown means may be employed for locking the extension-leaf and the door in their closed position as found best adapted to the purpose, and the ends of the cabinet may be provided with suitable handles e for convenience in carrying it.

When the device is in a compact form., as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, the extension-leaf E, being perfectly flat upon its top, may be used in a tent as an ordinary table or desk, and when required for use by the physician or surgeon the hinged door and the extension-top are brought into position indicated in Fig. 1 of the drawings, the adjustment of said parts being accomplished easily and expeditiously to be ready for the patient when brought into the t'ent or otherinclosure or upon the open field.

The door D is provided with suitable pivoted or hinged hooks f upon its inner side to be used for hanging towels thereon or for any other purpose that a hook may be found useful, said hooks being of any preferred construction, and any desirable number may be used as found necessary.

The door D is hinged to the cabinet A in such manner that when swung back in position to form a support forv the hinged leaf IOO E the door will be substantially on line with the center of the leaf and firmly support it at that point.

The above is considered of material importance in tables which are used by the physician or surgeon, in that the extension-leaf, which forms a head and body rest for the patient, should be free from wabbling and perfectly stationary and rigid to give as much comfort as possible to the patient when in a reclining position. The hinging or hanging of thc door to the cabinet to attain this end may be accomplished in various ways, but preferably by the hinges comprising the right angle hinge-section g and the hinge-section h, connected, respectively, to the end of the cabinet and to the door, as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. When the upper portion of the patients body is desired to be on an incline, there is provided a Wedge-shaped sup` port F for the extension-leaf E, as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. This wedge-shaped support is both slidable upon the upper edge of the door and removable therefrom when not required for use and may be constructed of wood, metal, or any other material found most desirable and is formed with an opening/L for convenience of the hand in sliding the support in or out to adjust the extension-leaf to the desired angle. The wedge-shaped support F has upon its under edge an inverted-T- shaped projection j, which engages a correspondingly-formed groove 7c in the upper edge of the door D.

To raise the extension-leaf to the desired angle with relation to the table-top of the cabinet, it is only necessary to slide the wed geshaped support along the groove in the edge ot the door, when the support by its inclined upper edge will act as a wedge to elevate or lower the extension-leali` to the desired angle, and when any inclination of the extensionleaf is not required and a perfect horizon tal examining or operating table is desired the wedge-shaped support is removed or not used.

There are many advantages in the device over the cabinets and operating-tables heretofore in use, there being no attachments to become broken or otherwise injured or become out of order, and the facility with which the device may be closed or opened ready for immediate use and the compactness of the device when closed recommends it particularly for use in the army, as it is most con veniently transported from place to place and quickly adjusted ready for use.

As the wedge-shaped support F is moved along in a direction to or from the cabinet the hinged extension-leaf E will be raised or lowered respectively to the desired angle and height to give to the upper portion of the patients body the desired incline for comfort and for treat mentby the physician or surgeon.

Vhen it is found desirable that the patient should lie in a perfectly horizontal position, the wedge-shaped support may be withdrawn and the extension-leaf rest upon and supported by the hinged door.

Itisevidentthatanysutable and well-known means may be substituted for` the means shown for slidably connecting the wedge- `shaped support to the hinged door, and any means employed for suspending the door so that it will swing on its connection and when swung open, as indicated in Fig. l of the drawings, will be substantially on line with the center of the end of the cabinet to support the extension-leaf at its center.

Any such changes or modifications in the general construction of the invention maybe resorted to without in any manner departing from the principle f the invention.

There are no screw-rods, levers, or other like mechanism required which would be liable to become broken or otherwise injured by any rough handling in the field, the parts when closed and not required by the physician or surgeon being compact and in convenient form for transportation by an army-wagon or other conveyance.

A cabinet provided with suitable drawers and a .flat table-top, and extension-leaf hinged thereto, a hinged door to hold the drawers in the cabinet when closed and when swung out to form a support to the extension-leaf, and a wedge-shaped support to retain the eXtension-leaf on an incline, said support slidable upon the door and removable therefrom, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

' GILBERT I-I. PRINDLE.

Witnesses:

L. M. GoTwALD, W. H. Go'rwALD. 

